PANAMA CITY, Fla. (AP) — Gov. Rick Scott says the Florida National Guard got into Mexico Beach and found 20 people who survived a direct hit from Hurricane Michael.
RELATED: Hurricane Guide | PHOTOS | Local linemen ready to restore power | FSU, FAMU closed until Oct. 15 | Donate to victims | Deputies pray ahead of storm | Storm chaser drives into eye
The town where the hurricane made landfall Wednesday remained very difficult to reach by land a day later, with roads covered by fallen trees, power lines and other storm debris.
Overhead video from a CNN helicopter Thursday morning reveals widespread devastation across the town of about 1,000 people.
Entire blocks of homes near the beach have been washed away, leaving nothing but concrete slabs in the sand. Rows and rows of other homes are smashed to pieces or crunched to the ground and leaning at odd angles.
The town was under a mandatory evacuation order as the rapidly developing storm targeted the coast, but some people were determined to ride out the hurricane.
